There are many Christopher Moore books out there and a few of them are on my bookshelf, but I've only read three: the legendary Lamb, the mediocre Fluke, and now this one, Sacré Bleu. I like Moore's willingness to explore the lacunae of history (such as the childhood of Jesus). In this case Moore presents a fantastical investigation into why the French impressionists were so nutters and, in particular, why Vincent Van Gogh would shoot himself and then walk five miles to see a doctor.You don't need an extensive art background to appreciate the book, though you may want to be somewhat familiar with the notion of what a muse is. If you are easily annoyed by non-period language, some likely anachronistic events, and frequent references to male genitalia, this may not be the book for you. I was just OK with the book overall. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that the entire concept sort of went over my head at times and everything was just a little too convenient when I stood back and assessed the entire work. For what it's worth, the author provides a very nice afterword to help the reader sort the historical from the fiction. I always appreciate a good afterword.
Is this enough to get me to stop reading Christopher Moore books? Nah, I'm still in. Anyone who could write Lamb can't have only one great book in them. He's been very prolific over the years and I'm sure there's another one out there that will be more of a Lamb and less of a Fluke.
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